Illuminating-sign.



v 'W.T.YBRADSHAW. f v

ILLUMNATING SIGN.

l. APPLIOATIONNLEDMAYS,1911.. Y -k j n N 1,022,928. Patented A229, 19124 WILLIAM -'1. BRADSHAW, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

ILLUMINATING-SIGN.

Speccation o f Letters atent.- I

Patent-ednpr. 9, l1912.

Application led May 3, 191.1. Serial N o; 624,778. y

"To aZZ whom ttmay concern:

Be it known thatI7 WILLIAM T. BRAD- sHAW, a citizen of the United States, residing. at Berkeley, in the county ofl Alameda land State of California, have invented certain nevsT and useful -Improvements in Illuminating-Signs, ofwhich the following is a specification.

` This invention relates to illuminating signs and has special reference to signs of this character the body portion or faceof which is provided with letters, characters,

or configurations which are illuminated by' means of a number of translucent objects arranged to bring out the illuminated letters or configurations by means of light transmitted through the same from behind the grlIlhe invention has for itsobject to provide an improved lens for illuminated signs of this kind by means of which the light transmitted through the translucent objects in the body of the sign will be partly distributed and reflected upon the surface of the sign thereby bringing into prominence the contrast-ing colors or letters or conigura' tions which are arranged upon the bodyV portion of the sign.

Referring to the accompanying drawp-fl ings Figure 1 is an outer face view. of a."

lens constructed in accordance withthi's nl' venton which is employed in theconstrurf tion ofthe sign Fig. 2 isa rear face view `of the lens shown in Fig. 1.- Fig. Svis-a crosssection of the lens showing a portion of the -sign upon which it is mounted'. Fight is a facerview of la portion of thesign having a letter thereon with a plurality of lensesl arranged on said letterand constructedin accordance with this invention. Fig. 5 is aside view in. verticalsection of a portion of a sign and a pairof lenses constructed inaccordance with this invention showing the manner of reflecting a partv of the light transmitted through each lens upon the i outer surface of the sign.

4. lThe front convexjsurface of thelens l indicates a main glass lens having. a front convex surface 2 `and a rear convex surface 3 with an annular flange 4projecting from .fthe rear convex surface 3' and formed `with an external annular shoulder 1 is provided about its edge with a number of small convex lenses 5 located at an angle to the main lens and in a lin'e with the inner annular grooved portion 5 of the main before described that the ofthe various ,reflections and refractions 'said lens is formed with a'number of prismatic mitted through the main lens and through the small lenses 5. I

lens. The inner annular surface of the main A number of the lenses 1 constructed as hereinbefore described are mounted on the i body of they sign 7 an'd arranged in any suitablemanner thereon soA as-to conform to the configurations or letters on the sign, as for example, the letter A, as shown in Fig. 4a f The lenses 1 are held in position in holes in the slgn l7 by any suitable means, as for example, a split ring 8 located in a groove 9 1n the annular flange 4, said ring bearing against one side .of the sign 7 and the other side thereof resting in the shoulder 4 of the lens.

. The manner in which a portion ofthe light transmitted -through the lens is re. nected upon the outer surface of the sign 1s shown 1n Fig. 5 wherein the light from a lamp 10 in the closurev 1l on which thel signis mounted is transmitted through the pair of lenses l and a portion of said light fis refracted upon the outer surface of the sign 7 as 'indicated' by the diagonal lines' shown in Fig. 5.

It vwill be seen that by means of the arrangement of lenses constructed as hereineater portion fromthe lensesl vpass through the main body of the lens and the smaller portion of reflections and` refractions pass through the smalllens l5. By having the outline of the letter or otherconfiguration on the sign the body of the sign provided with contrasting colors theill'umination of,l the sign will make the outline of the letters or other configurations thereof stand out in greater detall. v

' Vhat I claimisz 1. 'A main lens having conveXed outer and inner surfaces, a number of small convex lenses arranged about the edge of said main l lens, and a number of refractinv prisms ad- ]acent to the inner convex sur ace of said main lens and in the rear vof said smallconveX lenses.

2. A main lens formed with an outer conveX surface and an inner convex surface with an annulargroove adjacent lthereto,

and prismatic grooves transverse to' saidannular groove, and a number of small convex annular groove, and an inner annular 10 lenses located aboutthe edge of the 'convex groove provided with transverse prisms. surface of said main lens and opposite to In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature said annular groove. in .presence of two Witnesses.

3. A main lens formed with a Convex outer surface, a number of small lenses lo- WILLIAM T' BRADSHAW' "cated about the edge of said convex surface, Witnesses:

said main lens having an inner convex sur- HL C. ,SCHnoEDEm face, and a flange, anexternal shoulder, an I F. P. SCHROEDER 

